Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A Washington lawyer has filed a lawsuit in federal court , claiming he is the father of basketball star LeBron James .

Leicester Stovell alleges that the athlete and his family have been involved in a cover-up to deny paternity by committing fraud and misrepresentation . He told HLN 's `` Prime News '' on Thursday that he wants `` a carefully structured and secure DNA test '' to prove he 's the NBA all-star 's father .

Stovell says he has been trying for three years to establish paternity and is seeking $ 4 million in damages . An earlier test ruled out the possibility , but he said the test could have been tampered with -- `` and there are indications that there was a motivation . ''

Stovell said he had sex with James ' mother , Gloria James , after meeting at a Washington bar while she was visiting from Ohio in 1984 . A few months later , she told him she was pregnant , but did not say whether he was the father .

Stovell said his only request was that the child , if a boy , play basketball . He said his memory of the encounter resurfaced more than 20 years later , `` after being asked whether I had a son , and I then systematically explored all of my past for that possibility . ''

`` I came across this set of recollections and in focusing on them , they amplified , '' he said .

In the complaint , filed June 23 , Stovell says , `` I recently have concluded that a comprehensive , sophisticated and well-funded effort might well have been underway for quite some time , perhaps beginning in its present form as early as when defendant LeBron James was in high school , to frustrate identification of his real father , and that there is a likelihood that the father in question is me . ''

He stopped short of saying he is certain he is James ' father . `` I do n't want to make such a definitive statement in the absence of corroborative evidence '' such as DNA , he said .

Stovell said he filed the suit two weeks ago because a statute of limitations was about to expire . `` I have some limitation considerations that caused me to want to file the suit before the end of June , '' he said .

He denied the timing had anything to do with the current LeBron mania .

James is scheduled to announce Thursday evening the team he has chosen to play for next season , a deal worth perhaps tens of millions of dollars or more . He currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers .

He says he was informed by Gloria James months later that she was pregnant . He claims she told him the child would be named LeBron , similar to Leicester Bryce , Stovell 's first and middle names .

The lawsuit states Gloria James was 16 at the time of the alleged encounter , but Stovell said she told him she was in her early 20s .

Stovell is a solo legal practitioner in the District of Columbia , and filed the lawsuit on his own behalf . A call to LeBron James ' attorney , Frederick Nance of Cleveland , Ohio , was not immediately returned .

The lawsuit had been filed without much initial publicity , but was reported by the TMZ celebrity website Wednesday .

Public records show Stovell is a former government attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission . He filed a lawsuit in 2002 against the agency , alleging racial discrimination . Federal court records show the case was settled when the commission paid him $ 230,000 , while not admitting fault .

CNN 's Jason Kessler contributed to this report

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NEW : Stovell says he wants a `` secure '' DNA test to prove paternity

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NEW : Lawyer says his memories were `` amplified '' in recent years

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James will announce Thursday night with which team he 'll sign

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Lawsuit says Stovell had one-time tryst with James ' mother